If you have a little age on you, you will NEVER forget the moment Nelson Mandela and his wife, Winnie, were walking hand in hand, fist raised to the sky when he was released from Victor prison, Cape Town, on Sunday, February 11th, 1990. I know I won’t. Although a teenager at the time, his story touched my spirit and gave me hope in my people across the globe.
After 27 years in prison, his will could not be broken. He never stopped believing in his dream of freedom and prosperity for all. And when he was released from prison that day, the world celebrated and we all knew they tides were turning.
Unfortunately, today, December 5th, 2013, Nelson Mandela died in South Africa according to the current President Jacob Zuma. His individual fight might be over, but his legacy and movement will power the people forever.
Nelson Mandela, the former South African President, had been ill from lung infections that continued to come back over and over again. In fact, friends and family are reported to have been gathering in anticipation of the end.
“Our nation has lost its greatest son, yet what made Nelson Mandela great was precisely what made him human,” Zuma said. “We saw in him what we seek in ourselves, and in him we saw so much of ourselves.”
Mandela’s struggle was one of the defining stories of the 20th century. Trained as a lawyer, he became involved in politics after 1948 as South Africa moved into a system of racial apartheid. While initially espousing non-violent protests with the African National Congress (ANC), he eventually founded a militant organization and was behind a bombing campaign in the early 1960s. He was arrested and sentenced to life in prison in 1962.
Mandela was released from prison and became the President of the ANC and of South Africa in May of 1994. He was the President of South Africa until 1999. He took down the apartheid system during his reign.
His forgiveness for the oppressors of his people and not allowing the descrimination of them in the country led to him receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. Personally, I didn’t like this move by Mandela, but that critique is for another day. Not during the celebration of this giant of man’s life.
Our hearts cry out for the South Africans around the world, his wife, Graca Machel, six children and 17 grandchildren.
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